Animal I Once Was
by The Flying Taco
Summary: Naruto made a choice long, long ago that affected the entire world. He thinks back about it, wondering if he should have done what he did. The answer? Wait and see. Itachi/Naruto Naruto/Itachi Fluff


I own nothing.

The song is Animal I Have Become by Three Days Grace

..*.*..

I personally think this is the best song you can have about Naruto when he's angry ever made. It's amazing. Go to YouTube and type in Naruto-Animal I have become. It's awesome.

_I can't escape this hell_

I've always worn masks. I hate Konoha. I can't even count the number of times I've tried to get out. Konoha is really a hellhole. No one loves me, yet I'm forced to stay. I've been a good little boy. I've been happy. But I'm so done with it. I hate being happy. I hate being loud and obnoxious. I want it to end, but no one lets me leave.

_So many times I've tried_

I can't even count the number of times the ANBU stopped me from fleeing. The Kyuubi had been helping me every time, but there were just too many of them. Lord, I finally stopped trying when I entered the academy just to give them a break.

_But I'm still caged inside_

Yet here I am, sixteen years of death. No, not even close to life. This is punishment for some terrible thing I did in a past life. I'm hated, spat on, looked down on…the list goes on forever. At one point I had a few friends, but they've slipped away. Now, they're more like acquaintances then actual friends.

_Somebody get me through this nightmare_

I'm alone now. More alone then I ever was. I've given up on the orange jumpsuit, the goofy grin, and keeping my features human like. I've kept a human face for years. Yes, I alter it with chakra. But ever since Gaara's demon was removed, I've let my eyes turn red for anything and everything. My hair isn't only blond now. It has blood red streaks. My teeth are fang-like, just as my finger nails are claws. I wear a simple ninja uniform under a long black trench coat. Its collar goes over my mouth, kind of like the Akatsuki's. Unlike that cloak though, mine has pockets and keeps me cool. Now, since I'm no different than any other ninja, no one pays attention to me. I hate it- the Kyuubi even understands. He feels sorry for me. That's how bad it is.

_I can't control myself_

It's gotten to a point where the smallest comment about anything makes me loose control. The other day, team Kakashi was training in training ground 14. It was a mock battle against Kakashi, and Sakura screwed up. I quietly told her what she should do to improve, you know, moral support and all of that, and she started yelling at me.

..*.*..

Sakura aimed a punch at Kakashi, who caught it and sent her flying back into Sai.

"Sakura-chan," I said quietly, "next time, fake the punch and kick his stomach."

"Shut up baka! No one asked you for advice!" Sakura yelled at me.

"I'm sorry, Sakura." I said, strained. My eye started twitching.

"Not as sorry as that small dick of yours." Sai said, smiling.

I lost any cool I had left. Demon chakra surrounded me.

"Why do you always do this to me; why do you insult me like I'm nothing?!" I shouted at them. I ran up to Sakura, a fist pulled back. She tried to catch it, but I dropped it and kicked her stomach. She went flying back, screaming. I turned to Sai, pouring out killer intent.

"I am going to kill the next person who insults me. Believe it." I whispered the last part, but it came out wrong, like I was taunting everyone with my old catchphrase.

"Naruto, calm down," Kakashi said to me.

"Why should I listen to any of you? What have any of you ever done to earn that? Tell me sometime." I growled.

"Naruto, as your captain, I order you to-" Kakashi started.

"Shut up, sensei," I said calmly. Suddenly, I was in front of him, and I punched the ground where his feet where. A crater appeared, about twenty-five in radius. That's half, for those who don't know. The circumference was fifty feet. I landed at the edge and turned around. I stormed off, ignoring my 'team's' calls.

..*.*..

It started out as a simple C-ranked mission. A delivery to Suna, that was all. On the way back was where the trouble started.

_So what if you can see_

_The darkest side of me_

Orochimaru appeared, flanked by Sasuke and Kabuto, not to mention another woman holding a crystallized flower.

"Orochimaru," Kakashi muttered, taking out his sharingan.

"Sasuke," Sakura muttered.

I stayed quiet, analyzing the situation. Sasuke caught my eye and glared. I glared back, my eyes blood red. I focused every ounce of hatred, pain, lies, every malicious thought or violent action done onto me into that glare. The killer intent made Sasuke, Kabuto, and the woman choke under the pressure. Even Orochimaru's smirk wavered a little.

_No one will ever change this animal I have become_

"Hello again, Naruto-kun," Orochimaru said to me, "It looks like you've been training with that idiot Jirayia."

"No, I haven't," I replied steely, "If I had been training with him, I'd be weaker than Sakura was when we were team seven."

"So you admit Jirayia is a terrible teacher?" Orochimaru asked.

_Help me believe_

_It's not the real me_

_Somebody tame this animal_

"He didn't do anything for me." I said. "The only reason I'm not dead is the Kyuubi, who's been trying to tame me…but it isn't working."

"Tame you? Who would need to tame an idiot like you?" Sasuke asked.

The killer intent increased, if possible. Before, it was made of solid dislike. Now, it was full out hatred. I glanced at my team, who were all on the floor, panting hard. Kabuto was on his knees, and the other three were panting.

"Obviously, Uchiha, the world would, otherwise they'd be dead." I said.

_I can't escape myself_

I tried to calm myself down, but as it turns out, I didn't want to. I wanted to kill and destroy everything in sight.

"Naruto-kun, why don't you have a little fight with Sasuke-kun," Orochimaru suggested slyly, "If you win, you can take him back to Konoha. If he wins, you come with us."

"What if he doesn't want to fight?" Sakura asked weakly.

"Then you three would die." Orochimaru said. "You always said you would protect your precious people, right Naruto-kun?"

_So many times I've lied_

I grinned evilly. I felt fangs pierce my lower lip, but I healed too fast for any blood to leak out. I pulled out my sword and walked over to my team. They were still under my killer intent, utterly useless. I pulled Sakura up by her hair and stabbed her threw the stomach. Kakashi gasped in horror. I moved onto Sai, leaving my sword into Sakura's bleeding stomach. See was already dead. I grabbed Sai by his shirt and punched his chest, right over his heart. I grabbed the organ and pulled it out, listening to his screams of pain like a sweet melody.

"God does this feel good," I muttered, loud enough for the sound ninja to hear me. I dropped Sai's unbeating heart and stepped on it. I let Sai drop to the floor, dead. I walked over to Kakashi, licking the blood off of my hand on the way.

"Naruto, why?" Kakashi asked.

_But there's still rage inside_

I picked up my leader, holding him up by his neck. I grinned again.

"Because, sensei," I spat his name out like poison, "I hate you all."

I squeezed Kakashi's neck, choking him.

"Naruto…Tsunade will hear of this." Kakashi said. "She won't let you get away with this."

"Good idea, Kakashi. I might as well take something from you just to prove I got away with this." I said, holding up one curved claw. I dug it into Kakashi's sharingan eye, carefully taking out his eye. I did the same to my eye, calmly placing the sharingan eye into my empty socket. I blinked as demon chakra healed my new eye. I grinned and looked around. Sasuke had a look of utter revolt and…fear on his face, watching me do this, Orochimaru was grinning like he had won the lottery, and the woman and Kabuto were busy dealing with the killer intent I still had in effect. I looked back at Kakashi, who was crying.

"Now now, Sensei, a ninja must never show his emotions, right?" I asked, grinning. "It looks like you aren't a very good ninja. You couldn't protect your comrades, and now you get killed."

"Naruto…you are a monster." Kakashi said. "I didn't believe it when I met you, but…"

"Ah, sensei, you see, the beauty of it all is…" I leaned in closer to whisper in his ear, "I've always been like this." I said.

I then threw Kakashi against a tree, breaking his neck.

_Somebody get me through this nightmare_

No, this wasn't a nightmare. Not really. I was about to get what I wanted. I looked at Orochimaru, and replied to his earlier question,

"To answer your question…" I said, "No. My precious people can rot in hell."

Orochimaru grinned. I suddenly dropped the killer intent, which was a relief to Sasuke, Kabuto, and the woman.

_I can't control myself_

"So, Naruto-kun, will you come with us?" Orochimaru asked.

"On two small conditions," I said.

Orochimaru nodded, and I continued.

"Firstly, I want to kill every person who made my life hell while I was in Konoha." I said.

"Simple." Orochimaru said, "What is the other condition?"

"I want the blood of Uchiha Sasuke." I said.

Orochimaru thought about this. Sasuke glared at me.

"That's not going to happen." Orochimaru said.

"Then I want the blood of the next best person. No, _the _best person. Not even my hatred to that Uchiha compares to the hatred of the one who started all of this." I said.

"The forth Hokage is dead, baka," Sasuke said.

"No fucking duh, Uchiha," I said, almost freaking out over the insult, "I want the blood of Uchiha Madara. Also called Tobi of the Akatsuki."

Orochimaru grinned, "Deal," He said.

..*.*..

I stood over a pile of dead bodies, laughing.

_So what if you can see_

_The darkest side of me_

Sasuke, or rather, Orochimaru, smirked at me. I, his right hand man, his apprentice, had done it. All of the Akatsuki had been slain. Well, all but one. Uchiha Itachi was looking at me with a mixture of fear and sorrow. He was tied up, but not gagged. Like he needed it, the man barely talked at all.

_No one will ever change this animal I have become_

Even if I liked killing people for fun, I could never do that to Itachi. Itachi cared about me. He had proven that countless times. I would not kill that man. I found a permanent cure for his disease, and healed his eyes myself. He would be…I don't really know. Itachi couldn't ever be my servant, or a slave. No, he'd be a partner. He could live with that. I knew he could.

..*.*..

Slowly, its been working. Itachi, my only true friend, my partner, has been helping me learn to calm down a little.

_Help me believe_

_It's not the real me_

_Somebody help me tame this animal I have become_

He's been helping me tame the killing intent inside of me. I can't be truly angry in his presence, which is why we've grown so close. He's helped me get over some of the things the villagers have done, and in turn, I've done the same for him. No longer does he serve Konoha to the bitter end. He's moved past it, I can tell. He's seen what Konoha has done to me. He refuses to ever serve under those tyrants again.

..*.*..

_Somebody help me through this nightmare_

Orochimaru is dead. Konoha ninja have killed him. Okay, I admit, I was a little glad about that, but the snake was like…a weird, perverted old uncle to me. And Tsunade and Jirayia killed him, which is remarkable because he had Sasuke's body.

I went after them. They both knew of what I did to my team, and I saw it pained them to fight me. I stopped for a moment, wanting to let them live. And they attacked me!

_I can't control myself_

_Somebody wake me from this nightmare_

_I can't escape this hell_

It hurt so badly. I told them that, too. I would have let them live. I had wanted to. But they were dangerous. They had to die.

Itachi was there to comfort me. I really don't know, but I'm getting attached to him. He's nice, and smart and tender to me, like he cared about me.

..*.*..

I've done it.

_So what if you can see_

_The darkest side of me_

Konoha had fallen months ago. It was easy as hell, with Itachi helping me. Konohamaru came awfully close to hurting him with a rasengan, which was unforgivable. I killed him violently, and then made sure Itachi was okay. I don't know what's wrong with me.

_No one will ever change this animal I have become_

_Help me believe_

_It's not the real me_

Now, Itachi, an army of elite ninja, and I control the entire world. It was entirely too simple. Kill then declare yourself the leader, repeat. Same thing, over and over. It got tedious, but now we're done.

..*.*..

I-I don't know what to say. I'm happy. My Itachi is safe and happy, no one is dying for any reason, and I've finally leaned to control myself. But once and a while, a rebel will pop up. Unsurprisingly, the first few were from the rain. That courage I gave them wasn't enough to stop me from killing them, though. The next few were from Suna, but I only killed the ones I didn't know. I saw Gaara there, which got me excited. He told me that everything was fine, and he was happy.

..*.*..

Here I am now, age twenty. Itachi and I are both immortal, and proud of it. We peacefully rein over the earth, and I have a confession. I- I think I love him. I told him how I felt, and he didn't say anything. I got scared, which is something I hadn't felt in years. He smirked and looked down at me a little. I was only four inches shorter than him, but I felt like an ant. He bent down a little and gently kissed my lips. I smiled a little, content. We're getting married next month.

..*.*..

Today, I thought back to the day I started this. There was a lot of killing and violence, but here I was. Ruler of the earth. Not a bad job. Everyone had a job, there was minimal violence, and Gaara told me he's got a kid. He's married to a student of his. I saw them, and he's really happy. I thought of when he had his demon, and how we were so alike.

Don't worry, any of you. That animal I had been? He's dead and long gone. I've even found a way to let the Kyuubi out, and I did. He's happy to be free. He left in peace, telling me he'd visit from time to time. I'm a little worried about that, but that fox just grinned and disappeared. He said something about a human form and kits, but I didn't worry about that.

..*.*..

_Somebody help me tame this animal I have become_

I whistled a tune I had heard very recently. A close friend had made a song for me. I had listened to it, and had immediately liked it.

_Help me believe_

_It's not the real me_

He made it a few years ago. The year is now 2009. Everyone has advanced, and Itachi and I are still married happily. Gaara and his wife are still alive because of an immortality serum _someone_ had slipped into their dinners.

_Somebody help me tame this animal_

What was that song called again? Oh, it was a great song, and the title fit. So, what was it? Oh yes, I know. It was very appropriate. It was about the first part of my life.

**Animal I have become.**

Yes, as I whistle the tune while holding Itachi's hand as we walk through the garden admiring the view, I wonder one thing, a little apprehensively:

Am I still the animal I once was?

I ask that question to Itachi, who laughs softly. He gently kisses my lips and says,

"Of course not. You were never an animal. You were one of the only people. Everybody else: Konoha, the Akatsuki, and others who hated you; they were the animals. You are a person."

I thanked my love. And I thought about it some more. Itachi was right, of course, but I still had to wonder.

What would have happened if I had stayed who I wasn't? What would have happened if I hadn't unleashed the animal I had become?

The answer was simple enough, really.

I would have died in the pits of despair while Konoha had laughed and thrown stones.

So, the final question- was I glad I had unleashed who I really was?

**Yes. Yes I was.**

**..*.*..**

So, how was it? I wrote it last night, so tell me about it. And, I did look it over, so it can't be that crappy.


End file.
